Dozer Hrs?

[perchking]

I am in the market for dozer for out at my hunting land, I have a ton of work to be done at my hunting land and after looking at the quotes I have received, it looks like I am just going to buy one. I have looked at a few JD/Case 450's that are in pretty decent condition. I have never owned a dozer before but I know kind of what to look for and ask. One questions I have though, is what is considered HIGH hrs on a dozer? I know it all depends how well it has been maintained but a general rule of thumb is what?

Thanks,

PK

[gregg52]

perchking

avg hrs on dozer are around 1200 to 2000yr up here in the cold

but not sure you would want to go by the hrs try to get paper on

like undercarriage work motor works etc etc

and personally i'd look cat or komatsu

if you are going to work on i mean fix it they are the worse to work on

can never get to what you need to fix

they run ok and arnt hard to operate but you will be sorry when it comes time to fix and that time will come

i've been doing dirt work or blktping for 27-28 yrs

cat might be a buck or 2 more but then again when your done you will get a better return on your money

[LipRipper!!]

King,

I am a heavy equipment operator now Job superintendant for a construction company here in Minnesota. I would look for one with a six-way blade, tilts angles and goes up and down M.O. Dozers with this type of blade are much more versatile as far as building trails, digging ponds, clearing the list goes on and on. The size depends on what you want to use it for. I like the D-3 thru D-5 (CAT#) size, they are an all around good size.

As far as hours go that is a tough call. I have seen dozers with 6,000 hrs. on them and they are still in good condition. I have also seen some with 2,000hrs on them and they are about shot it just depends on how they have been serviced and taken care of. If you can, I would find somone that knows something about equipment even farm equipment and bring them with you when you find one you are interested in and have them look it over(4 eyes are better than 2!!) Also ask for service and maintenance records.

Hope this info was useful and happy shoping!!

Ripper!!

[LipRipper!!]

King,

I agree with gregg. We have cat and komatsu and they are both great machines.

[jeffreyd]

if you can look at city or county/state auctions too that might be a way to go. i know we had a d5 that got serviced every 3 months whether it needed it or not. heck it was 10 yrs old and still had oem tires on it.

[perchking]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the reply's. I haven't really looked too hard just yet but I will have one this summer. There will be someone with me that knows about dozers once I am ready to pull the trigger...

PK

[gregg52]

i personally stay away from auctions if you do go to one make you have some one very smart with you

also like lipripper say try to get a 6 way

also if you dont have alot of experience runnin equipment...... a d-6 will

work better for you and be easier to run than d-3 the smaller the harder to run

[Dozer]

Personaly I like the JDs. We have a fleet of D9s, D8s, D6Rs, D6Ns, 850s, 700s and 650s at work with anywhere from 14,000 (yes 14,000) to 3500 hrs on them. I like the Jds better than the Cats because they have more power, are quicker and have less ground pressure. In the long run Cats last a little longer but there parts are more expensive so JDs are cheaper to run. Take a good look at the undercariage and try to get some oil samples from the engine, hyd, and final drives. That will tell you alot about the power train. It really isnt about how many hrs the machine has its about how its been maintained. The 850 we have with 14000hrs on it isnt all that much differnt than the newest one with 4500 on it. There are deals to be had at auctions but there is a risk, sometimes the deal is just to good to pass up though! Whatever you get have fun, I wish I could justify buying my own to play with too!

[duckhuntr21]

if you can look at city or county/state auctions too that might be a way to go. i know we had a d5 that got serviced every 3 months whether it needed it or not. heck it was 10 yrs old and still had oem tires on it.

Tires?

[Gordie]

another option may be a log skidder with the heavy push blade on it. A friend of mine used a small dozer then ended up picking one of the skidders up and said it was way more usefull for him. just a thought